GEM Project
by randomchick1995
Summary: Logan's back, Rogue's outta jail, & Onyx is a bad influence. Stryker shows up with ties to Logan and Onyx, but he's not just experimenting on mutants anymore, and Erik's machine wasn't a complete failure like everyone thought. DuringX2 Pairings for all!
1. Life's Little Surprises

Chapter 1 Life's Little Surprises

Onyx POV

Logan was gone. Dove was in school and everything was slow. I mean _really_ slow. I had nothing to do, ever since they'd decided I wasn't such a good teacher after all. Hey, they're the idiots who thought it'd be "safe" for me to teach health.

Yeah, I wasn't gonna be invited to teach any time soon.

But I didn't like _not _doing anything, so I volunteered to help out with the littler kids. I hated it and loved it at the same time. I loved it because I was going out and rescuing kids like Dove who didn't have any other options, and I hated it because these kids were in the situations to begin with.

I'd thought about going away like Logan had, but I enjoyed my job. The professor seemed to know when I was getting stir crazy the most. He'd given me enough assignments to keep my interest up, but I was getting bored.

That, and I _really_ wanted to hit somebody.

That's when I'd learned about the danger room. It was like a simulator of anything you could think of. It was pretty kick butt, if you ask me. It also trained me not to use as many of my senses. Computers didn't have smells, and the sounds weren't exact. I'd been training harder in the last few months than I had in a long time.

The dreams had come back too. I remembered more than Logan did, but there was still a lot missing. There were experiments, but I'd mostly been kept in a cage. I remember crying and screaming… and a voice. I couldn't remember who, but I knew it was directly linked to the experiments. And that smell.

It was the reason I hated hospitals, the med room and anywhere else that was too clean. It brought back not memories, but feelings that I'd had. If I hadn't gotten out when I did, I had no doubt I'd be the next "test subject". The professor knew, but he didn't ask questions. Jean, on the other hand….

I don't know what was up with her. She seemed a bit more… advanced lately. Her powers were definitely growing and I'd been hearing whispered conversations from Scott that her powers were causing problems.

Either way, I was completely…relaxed. I know, it was a dangerous place for me to be. And that is completely why I totally didn't expect anything out of the ordinary when the Professor called me to his office. I should have noticed something was up when practically _everyone _was in the Professor's office, and then some.

I did notice, however, one thing I never wanted to smell, or see again…Rogue. "You."

I'm surprised that Jean stopped me in time. She held me back with a force field and I glared at her. How had she gotten this powerful without my notice? Rogue's fear hit me in a wave. I had a look on my face a mixture of a grin and disgust. "What's the matter? Scared now that you're all alone?"

She blinked up, still scared. She put on a brave front. "You still can't touch me."

My laugh was more like a bark. "Please. There are plenty of ways to hurt you without touching…"

Her eyes widened as I lunged again, surprising both Jean and Rogue. The latter who jumped backwards, shrieking. I paused. "You're different."

She looked at me cautiously, trying to gauge whether I would attack again. Her scent was a bit off, different from before. "Mystique?"

The professor shook his head. "Miss Onyx, if you would allow time for explanation, you will see Miss Marie is not the person she was."

"Thank Goodness." My eyes shot to her. Even her accent was different. Before it was more fake, exaggerated. Now it was a subtle, soft southern accent. Being from the south, I could spot a fake anywhere. I'd known hers had been fake before, so what was different?

"Please, have a seat…"

Ororo, Jean and Scott took a chair. I remained standing, facing 'Marie'. "Please begin."

"Well, my power means I can absorb another person's… well, life force really." She grimaced. "With mutants, I can take on their powers for a while." She didn't meet my eyes. "But when this happens I also absorb their personality."

Huh? She looked up at the professor who nodded in encouragement. She continued. "When I absorb a lot of a certain personality, it can influence my own. When I was on the road, I came into contact with some very… unfriendly characters."

Her voice raised in fear. For the first time I felt a pang of sympathy for the girl.

"Obviously they weren't able to hurt me much, but that didn't stop them from trying… especially when they found out I was a mutant. They thought I was hurting them on purpose. They wanted to teach the 'little mutant' a lesson." She shuddered visibly. Her next words were directed to me as she looked up. "Like you said, there are plenty of ways to hurt somebody without touching them…"

I shifted on my feet uncomfortably. Ororo's mouth had dropped out of shock. "Then when they finally figured out that I didn't have a chance but to absorb the life force of a person, they decided to use that to their advantage. They made me drain energy from their enemies. Bad people… very bad people."

She looked around as we all started drawing conclusions. "The more anger and hatred I absorbed, the more my personality changed. I couldn't help myself… they took over and I couldn't do anything to stop it…I finally woke up, but I was in prison. The people were gone, but I still had all my memories. The professor visited me and helped me through everything. I'm so sorry for what I did."

She looked up, meeting all of in us the eye. I frowned. "So when you were working for Magneto…"

"Miss Marie didn't have any choice. She is truly sorry."

Jean frowned. "What happened to have her change this much?"

The professor nodded towards me. "I believe that Miss Onyx had something to do with that."

"Excuse me?"

Rogue/Marie nodded. "Yes! Because of you, I was able to overcome the others! You were so strong and you didn't let them hurt me." She stared at me with thankful eyes. "Thank you."

I ducked my head down. "I'm just glad you're ok, kid."

"But it wasn't just that. You're morals, your sense of honor…it gave me purpose and changed my mind set. I still have you in my head, a bit. It must be your healing factor, because your presence hasn't faded in the slightest."

I frowned. I didn't like the idea of somebody else running around with my memories. "Um, professor? I'm not trying to be rude, but I'm not too crazy about Lil Miss Marie here knowing my thoughts."

The professor nodded. "I understand the concern. Marie has promised not to compromise any of the information."

She nodded. "Besides, the Onyx in my head isn't too forthcoming with information either. I won't do anything to hurt ya. I promise."

I raised an eyebrow. She seemed honest, and I could usually smell a lie. "So what are you doing now?"

The professor cut in. "Marie is still under a watchful eye. Despite her pleas, the court is not so forgiving to… mutant 'criminals'."

Marie blushed. "However, they are willing to let her out on parole. She will be guarded until deemed fully recovered. I still believe she is under threat from those who would like to use her for their own purposes. She will need to be trained and protected."

I crossed my hands over my chest. "And just who is gonna be doing this?"

"I believe you would be the ideal choice."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "Are you joking? Do you _want _her to die? I can't train her. The last time I tried that with Dove, she almost killed herself. And I'm _not _a teacher. Have you forgotten the health class incident?"

Marie smirked "Oh I woulda paid money ta see that." I did a double take. She'd sounded creepily like me.

"Oh, that's ten times of freaky."

"I told yah, I have part of your personality. I kinda like it. You got a great sense of humor."

I rolled my eyes. "Flattery doesn't really do it for me."

She shrugged. "That's what she said."

I looked at her before bursting out laughing. "Alright, I'll do it." I glanced at her. Maybe this won't be as terrible as I'd thought.

Jean and Scott stood up at the same time. "Professor, you can't be serious."

"Jean, I know what I'm doing." He turned to me. "Please show Miss Marie to her room. I believe there's an extra one across from yours."

I nodded. "Sure thing. C'mon kid. You hungry? Prison food sucks."

Ororo bit back a chuckle. Jean rolled her eyes. Marie nodded. "Yah, it really does. I don't got much stuff. We can stop by the kitchen first."

I nodded. "What are you hungry for?"

"Anything with meat."

I glanced at her. "We're gonna get along great."


	2. Who I am is Who you Hate

Chapter 2-Who?

A/N: I should have put this in my first chapter, so sorry. This is a sequel to my story Black Onyx. You should probably read that or you'll really have no idea what's going on. Anyways….

Onyx POV

I was right. Me and Marie got on great. She had a bit of my fighting and training in her memory, but she still needed to know how to use it. The training was going great. She was really dedicated to her studies, and her training. She obviously was trying to make up for what she'd done, but I didn't pry.

The psychology junk was the professor's thing.

I'd also been offered another job at the school, so I could continue working with Marie. Somebody had taken over my old job, I didn't know their name but he seemed to be doing a good job. I was teaching American History and Chemistry.

No, not _that_ kind of chemistry. The Health class debacle was more than enough evidence that the professor didn't want me to teach that subject. Chemistry was ok. (Although, sadly, it turns out you can't spend all day blowing stuff up like on Mythbusters…though I do mostly.)

But I was having fun. I'd lived through most of what I was teaching. (Not _all_. I'm not _that_ old.) But the rest was easy. I blissfully skipped my years when I was captured and tortured. After I'd escaped, I had found my 'parents'. They weren't my biological parents, but they were pretty close, until they'd been gunned down by the creeps who were after me.

Anyways, life was blissfully wonderful. Well, if it weren't for that nagging feeling that someone, er, something was missing…

~Logan POV

Weeks I'd been on the road, and I'd finally made it. There wasn't much to look at. It was just a bunch of snow.

The sign said Alkaline something or other. I vaguely remembered Alkaline had something to do with science, but I didn't bother trying to think about it.

I looked around until I found an entrance. Then I'd seen a wolf. I saw it, but it wasn't there. No, I'm not crazy. But I couldn't _smell_ the wolf. I couldn't even hear it. But I heard something. If I focused, I could hear the distinct sound of an electronic hum.

The wolf looked at me and trotted into the entrance. I followed. Then I could hear voices. No. They weren't aloud, but I could still hear them. There seemed to be dozens of them swarming around my head. I frowned. I needed to get out of here.

Perhaps it was a ghost of a memory. The professor would know. Either way, there was nothing here for me.

I left, but I could still hear the echo of the voices that had been calling.

…_Help us…_

Onyx POV

"Children, not here-Onyx?"

I glanced up mischievously at Ororo without a hint of remorse. She glanced at the people on either side of me. They were pretending to pose in one of the exhibits, acting crazy. "Dove, Pierto, I thought better of you…John, Bobby,… I don't know what to say."

They looked at me for help. I shrugged. "I know, Ororo, I'm just as disappointed as you are. Me and Marie tried to stop them, but…"

She raised an eyebrow and I knew she wasn't falling for it. I tried unsuccessfully to wipe the grin from my face. I shrugged as we climbed down. "Chill. Just a bit of harmless fun…"

"That's what you said after the Health Class incident…"

The voices behind me sniggered. "Why does everyone bring _that_ up?"

"Because it's not _that_ kind of school!"

I shrugged. "Just thought I'd teach the kids something that would actually be helpful in real life…"

Storm pursed her lips, but I saw them twitching in an effort not to smile. "Indeed. Anyway, you need to join the rest of the group."

"But we have adult supervision!" That was Bobby who gestured towards me. John smirked.

Ororo glanced at me again. "That's a matter of opinion."

"Oh, Storm, how you flatter!"

"I'm supposed to be lecturing them on the history of the human race." I could see she was wearing down. I kicked in my persuasive voice.

"Look, I actually lived the history. Why don't I take these guys and give my own lecture." John's eyes widened in terror at the thought of school during a field trip.

Storm frowned. "I guess that would be alright… they did learn this last year."

That was the problem with having so little staff at our school. The older kids were responsible for the younger kids, but there wasn't many people to watch over the school if they needed to go on a field trip. So, the whole school went to the field trip.

I smiled. "See? So I'll go over the American History while we're eating in the food court." Her eyes smoothed over our group. Like her hair, they seemed odd compared to her coffee skin, but the contrast was good. I silently prayed that the teens behind me had enough sense to look somewhat innocent.

Apparently so, because she began to nod slightly. "That would work. I'd send Kitty and Jubilee, but they're off somewhere else… if you see them…"

"I got it." I inwardly smirked. Kitty was a bit too flighty for my taste, but I liked Jubilee. She was snarky, like I was. She also looked like me, with her Asian heritage. My mom was the source of my dark black hair and wide eyes. Somehow I had inherited deep brown eyes from my dad.

We were walking towards the food court when I spotted Jubilee at one of the exhibits. My heart stopped for a second. "Guys, go on a head of me. I'll catch up."

Rogue hesitated, sensing my discomfort. "You sure?"

I nodded. "Now hurry up before that Bobby kid sends out a search party."

She rolled her eyes. I'd been teasing her endlessly about the not so subtle flirting Bobby had been sending her way. She thought he was sweet, but a bit too… soft for her. (I knew I'd be a good influence on her.)

I strode towards Jubilee in a brisk walk. Her eyes showed a mixture of surprise, disgust and a bit of fear. I stepped beside her, looking at the horror before us. The mutant exhibit had all sorts of propaganda, including a picture that looked like it belonged in a horror movie.

"You ok, Jubes?"

She was looking down at her hands. They were cackling with energy. She clenched her hands into a fist and the energy went away. Her breathing was uneven, and she sounded like she was about to cry. I glanced up to see two people glaring at us suspiciously.

I grabbed Jubilee's arm gently. "Come on. We need to get out of here."

She turned and faced me as if she really didn't register I was there. It was gut wrenching, but eventually she nodded and I led her to a corner bench. When she finally calmed down she looked at me.

"Do they really think of us like that?"

I brushed my hair out of my face, trying to think of what I could say. I could use a pony tail holder but that really wasn't my style. It was…too clean.

"Some do."

"Are we-"

"No!" She shrunk back at my sharp answer. "Sorry, it's just…" I glanced around. Nobody was bothering to look at us. "I know it sounds cliché, but you just have to ignore it."

Her hands clenched into small fists. "That's not fair!" Little sparks shot from her hands.

"I know, but trust me, fighting doesn't help either. You just gotta know what you believe and tell it to anybody open minded enough to listen. Talking to people like the idiots who made that sign won't get you anywhere. They've already decided we're evil."

"They don't even know us!"

"I know they don't. It's a prejudice, and it's stupid. All we can do is show them they're wrong by our actions." Yes, I know I sounded like a hypocrite, but Jubilee didn't know that.

She frowned. "That doesn't make sense. All mutants are evil? How does that work?"

I froze. Those words… I'd heard them before. I felt my body jolt as I fell back into a memory.

"_You're crazy."_

"_Not crazy, Onyx, a visionary." Somebody was standing in front of me. A bright light shone behind him and I couldn't see his face._

_I struggled against my bindings. I felt rage and anger bubble up inside me. "You call what you've been doing to those kids 'visionary'?"_

"_In a manner of speaking, yes… and you're the same. You will help create the future."_

"_Your future involves killing off millions of people."_

_A sharp pain shot through my head as a fist connected with my face. I spit out some blood, scowling. "They are not people! They are freaks of nature… they are mutants!"_

"_They're children!"_

"_They are evil, and you are going to help me eradicate the world of the evil."_

"Miss Onyx? Are you alright? Miss Onyx?" I jolted as I heard Jubilee's voice calling me from far away. I shook my head.

"Sorry. Something you said… brought back a bad memory."

"Are you ok?"

I nodded. "Of course. Don't worry about me. You should probably get back with the group before Storm freaks."

She smiled. "Thanks.

I nodded. "No prob."

She walked away and I sighed. I should probably go to the food court. "Woah-" The entire building started to shake. I fell back on the bench. Ugh. Jean…

I frowned as I stood back up, determined to go tell Jean to get a grip. I was just walking when I felt a sharp pain shoot down my skull. I temporarily passed out. Thanks to my healing factor, I was awake in minutes. The idiots capturing me didn't expect that, but I didn't give them time to react.

My training was ingrained in my mind and I had one of them unconscious before the other one pulled a gun. The dart pierced my shoulder, but I barely noticed. My healing factor would stop any of the anesthesia from affect my system.

I slammed my fist into somebody's ribcage. We were in a deserted hallway, so I let my nails grow into their usual mini-dagger style. I stabbed my fingers through his chest, twisting violently as he let out a shriek of pain. I grunted as I ripped my nails back out and slashed the face of the next victim. Suddenly I felt an electrical shock shoot through my entire system.

I fell to the ground, paralyzed. I looked up to see a face that matched the one of my nightmares. He was holding what appeared to be a type of tazer, but with a continuous charge shooting into my body. I couldn't move. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"Speechless in my presence? I expected more from you."

I wanted to strangle the man in front of me. He had caused me unspeakable pain and misery. He had done terrible, inhuman things. Things that I had witnessed, and had unwillingly assisted in. I looked with fury at the man who was the true incarnate of evil.

One William Stryker.

They carted my immobile body into a dark van. I felt two drops of something hit my neck. I felt my body becoming frozen as Stryker smirked evilly. "Welcome back, Yuriko"

A/N: DUH-DUN-DUUUUUH! Yes, indeed! Our Onyx is the one, the only…(Well, if you don't know it by now, you really have some issues)

Also, I know that some of you aren't too crazy about Rogue being a villain or her reforming, but this is actually an homage to the comics, where Rogue was adopted by Mystique and grew up as a villain. She only joined the X-men after absorbing the original Mrs. Marvel's powers.


	3. Trapped in my Own Body

Chapter 3-Trapped in my Own Body

A/N: I'm very disappointed. Usually I don't care about reviews, but I friggin love this story! So review! Anyways, in this chapter we have the very first appearance of the very mysterious characters of which I will not tell you anything about! Haha. Joking!

? POV

"Where'd he go? Is he coming? Did you reach him?" Vibrant blue eyes darted in the small room, holding an ethereal glow that resembled sapphires. She didn't like small spaces and they'd been in the room for who knows how long. She was getting antsy.

"Shhh!" A sharp voice hissed from the dark shadows of the room. With her jet black hair, she seemed to blend into the shadows. Only two eyes like red lasers were able to be seen in the dark. "He's not there anymore." After a moment of weighted silence she sighed. "He left."

Wide amber eyes looked up. Her soft voice seemed out of place with her striking features. "H-he _left_! How could he leave us?" Out of the four she was by far the most malnourished, seeming to hold no body mass at all.

The fourth girl finally spoke up, her strong accent forcing her friends to strain to hear. " 'Ee don't remember us, Amber. Bloody idiot had to get 'imself shot. Ruby already said that, love."

"That's right. I saw it happen from his deeper memories. He can't help us anymore." The red eyed one, Ruby, sighed sadly.

Soft sobs came from the small framed woman, Amber. "Then what are we supposed to do? We can't stay here! Not with him here…"

This caused a flood of protest from the hyper claustrophobic. "No, no, no, no NO! We can't I gotta get out of here! Why can't we get out of here?" She wanted to pound her fists against _something,_ but the walls were wired to give an electric shock to anybody who touched them. She resorted to pulling her legs tightly to her chest.

"Ey! Calm down…Saph! Givin me a bloody 'eadache…"

"Shut up, Jade! Nobody asked you!" Panic was quickly making Sapphire lose any common sense or survival instinct, thus causing her to foolishly antagonize the temperamental Jade.

A low growl erupted from the aforementioned woman and her green eyes flashed in annoyance. "Listen here, midget, I've been here much longer than any of you twerps, and lemme tell ya, it was a lot less crowded before the lot of ya came along!"

Ruby frowned. "I can assure you none of us chose to be here! Could you please just stop fighting before we all get in trouble?"

Silence quickly fell on the group. Jade glared at Ruby. She didn't like being told what to do, but she knew Ruby was right. The guards took any opportunity to punish the four. They had to be careful. Finally the blonde spoke up, her tear filled amber eyes glowing in an otherworldly fashion like those of her cellmates. "He's going to kill us, you know."

Nobody said anything right away. Ruby sighed. "I know…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X-MEN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rogues POV

After the little _ahem_ accident in the food court, the professor ended our field trip in a hurry. It was fine with me, of course. My two most loud headcases decided that they would critique on _every_ single exhibit on accuracy and, as Onyx put it, lameness. Erik was not amused by the food court shenanigans and he made his opinions known quite loudly. Besides, if John and Bobby wanted to be all territorial and macho, they could leave me out of it. Then that news bit about the mutant attack on the president… Today just wasn't turning out to be a good day.

"Rogue?"

And the fun keeps on coming. The Onyx in my head snickered as I turned towards Bobby. "Yeah?"

"Are you ok? I mean, I know John can be a little… intense sometimes."

'_Better a raging pyromaniac than a prissy sissy boy…'_

_Shut up, Onyx._

_**I conquer with Miss Onyx. This John fellow seems to have much greater potential than this fool.**_

_Not helping, Erik…and in this universe we don't say 'fellow'._

I forced a smile to my lips. Internal conversation wasn't the easiest background noise for real life conversation. "I'm fine Bobby. Thanks." I tried to turn but he caught my shoulder. Even though I was still wearing a shirt I flinched at the contact. He didn't even notice.

_Of course he wouldn't. I've been telling you he's no good. __Shut up, ONYX! _I blinked as I tuned back into whatever Bobby was saying.

"So, listen… I was thinking maybe-."

My eyes caught something and my entire body seemed to freeze. There was a flash of metal hanging from one of the exhibits. I ran over to it, hoping beyond hope it wasn't what I thought it was.

No such luck. They were without a doubt Onyx's dog tags. Well, Logan's dog tags that Onyx always wore. My heart stopped. I had to get these to the professor. There was no way Onyx would have left these…willingly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The professor let me keep them. The dog tags, that is. I wore them around my neck in Onyx's _temporary_ absence. The Professor didn't think Onyx was coming back. I could tell. I couldn't believe that. She had to come back. She was Onyx.

_I'm not wonderwoman, doll._

_I know, but even you don't believe that you're gone for good._

…_well…_

_WHAT?_

_It's not that I don't think I can make it, but if I was kidnapped by who I think it was…_

"Stryker." I whispered softly. I had no idea who it was, or what his connection was with Onyx. She didn't let me know _everything_. All I knew is he had something to do with-

"What'd you say?"

Oh, right. Bobby was still following me. Onyx snickered at that while Erik just rolled his eyes. I blinked innocently. "What? Nuthin."

_Watch. I bet he's about to ask you out._

_**I hardly believe this Bobby would lack such class as to ask her out so soon after a tragedy has occurred.**_

Onyx snorted. _You wanna bet? _

_**To borrow a phrase of yours, 'It's on.'**_Erik should not be allowed to say such phrases. It's just wrong. Great. Now my 'inner voices' were betting on my life.

Bobby thought I was an idiot. I wasn't about to correct him. Magneto and Onyx both taught me the advantages of people underestimating you…not that Bobby would be much of a threat. He shrugged. "You wanna thumb wrestle?"

I blinked at him for a moment. Then incredulous laughter mixed with Onyx and my own bubbled up from my mouth. It sounded weird, even to my ears, a mixture of Onyx's bark and my giggle. Erik wanted his say too, but I swallowed back a retort about 'immature adolescent males'. Was _this_ the best pick up line he had?

"Uh…sorry about that. I'd love to darlin." His face lit up. I bit back another round of laughter.

"Great! Uh, cool…" He offered his hand to my gloved one and the battle began. I let him win a couple of times, much to Onyx's dismay. It wasn't fair to the guy. Then he'd looked up into my eyes, leaning towards me… and that's about when everything went to…

_**Language, child…**_

…That really hot place…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X-MEN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Onyx POV

I could see everything. Memories flooded into my mind. I remembered this place… this terrible place! And now I was a part of it, helpless due to some stupid mind control crap. I cursed myself for being this weak.

I saw myself in a mirror once. I wanted to claw my own eyes out. I hardly recognize myself. My eyes were lifeless, emotionless. I had to wear this terribly grey suit. My felt restricted. My hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and worst of all, she was wearing glasses! I was definitely not the glasses type of person!

The worst thing was the voices. I'd heard them almost as soon as I'd entered the lab at Alkali. They kept calling to me, begging to help… and I recognized them from my past.

Their names flooded back from the recesses of my memory that I'd tucked away. Ruby, Sapphire, Jade and Amber…how could I have forgotten them? Especially Jade, who'd been a mother figure to me when I'd been stuck in the lab years ago. Now she was trapped and I couldn't help her.

Ruby was the one talking to me. I felt so guilty.

'_Don't be! I know that you don't have a choice, Onyx! We all feel sorry for you!'_

_That's what I'm afraid of, Ruby. If I'm on the outside, and __**you**__ feel sorry for me, then how bad is it for you guys?_

…_don't think about that. Focus on surviving. You're the only one who knows about us. If you can escape, if you can survive, you can save us._

It was agony, to feel this much emotional pain and not be able to cry. The weight fell on my shoulders and all I could do was stand straight, awaiting my next order.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stryker was in the oval office, relaying his plan to take down the school. I thought about Rogue, Jubilee, Dove, Pietro, John…and yeah, even Bobby. The anger boiled through my veins and my hands twitched slightly…hmm…

I tested it again, putting all my focus on the students and what I would do to Stryker if I wasn't under the influence of the stupid serum. I popped my knuckles, causing a loud crack to sound through the room. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I was vaguely aware of the room's other occupants were staring at me, but I didn't care. I was reveling in my small freedom.

I had to stop Stryker…but I didn't know how.

They say salvation comes in strange forms. Mine happened to be in the form of "Senator Kelly". Stryker really did think mutants were animals. He definitely underestimated all of us. He introduced me to the good "senator". Let me tell you, Mystique must have been exhausted from impersonating the senator, because her smell was exclusively hers. I have no doubt that she recognized me, but she didn't show any emotion other than what was appropriate.

I shook her hand, clenching it a bit tighter than necessary. I hoped she'd get the message. Her mouth flipped up in a mock pained smile. "Wow. Quite a grip you have there…"

They talked a bit longer, but I knew she'd gotten the message. If they were able to get access and control of me, then Erik was as good as defenseless. She would get to work tonight to get Erik out…I just hoped she'd get my face right for the security cameras.


	4. Welcome Home

Chapter 4 Welcome Home, Mr. Kitty Claws.

A/N: Sorry for everything, but before you come after me with pitchforks (or mean reviews) lemme just tell ya, I've been through a lotta crap (Psychotic breakdowns of family members, moving, internet on the fritz, nearly getting expelled) over the last year and quite honestly, fanfiction has been on the bottom of my to do list.

So, sorry, but just don't complain. At least I'm updating now. So there.

Btw. I hate that they screwed the timeline so Gambit can't be with Rogue. (Though rumor has it that he was _supposed_ to have been played by Channing Tatum in X3. Can anybody say yum?) So, I'm making a change based on my universe and my rules.

It's so much fun when you're in charge.

I have Rogue and Onyx talking through Rogue in this chapter so "Normal" is Rogue and "This" is Onyx talking through Rogue…no questions, just read.

Rogue POV

Logan was glaring at me and had his claws pressed up against my throat. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I felt myself wanting to roll my eyes.

Note to self: never EVER listen to the Onyx in my head… EVER! Anything she suggests will undoubtedly lead to bad news for me… Well, it had sounded like a good idea at the time…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 minutes prior~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then Bobby looked up into my eyes, leaning towards me. Onyx immediately went on the offensive. _Can I take over? Just for a few minutes? _

_I don't think that's such a good idea._

_I promise he'll never mess with you again! How about I just half-way take over?_

…_that sounds tempting, if not creep. But I can't hurt him…_

_I won't have you hurt him, promise!_

_Or have him in therapy?_

_Well…_

"You won't hurt me, Rogue." He wasn't even staring at my eyes…_On second thought, let im have it, Onyx._

I felt a smirk pull at my lips that wasn't my own. "Now, Bobby…" Even my accent was vastly different than before. Onyx was a Georgia peach, while I was a Mississippi girl. Onyx had me twirl a piece of my hair around my finger. "Why would I even think that?"

He blinked. His expression seemed taken aback, as if he didn't know who was in front of him. I sort of felt sorry for him. "Um…"

Her grin widened, and with her influence I could practically smell his anxiety. "Now, quite frankly, I don't appreciate your thinking that I'm willing to just fall out at your feet just because of my unique gifts."

He swallowed. "I, uh…"

"Also, you are quite untactful and your pick up lines are pathetic. You are uncouth and classless, not to mention childish. You are a child, a mere boy, and I can't waste my time with somebody like that. Understood?"

Okay, Erik might have stepped in a bit at the end, but it seemed to work. Wordlessly Bobby nodded. Onyx's smirk stayed on my lips. I could hear Colossus and Dove snickering at the other table, although I'm pretty sure Dove was the only one who had an inkling of what was going on. "Oh, Bobby, one more thing. I-" 'Onyx' was cut off as something happened.

The next few moments happened in a complete rush. The front door opened. With it came a strong gust of wind that was carrying an unusual scent. I'd never smelt it before, but it was extremely intoxicating…at least to Onyx…who happened to be totally in control at the moment.

Lemme give ya a quick math equation.

Me heavily influenced by Onyx+

Onyx's instincts+

Onyx's senses+

my lack of self control+

Logan's scent=bad news.

Imagine all of her feral instincts with the self control of an adolescent teenage girl. Jeez, you'd think I woulda been warned before she tried to take over my body, but nooo…

I leapt of the couch and my grin seemed impossibly large. "Logan!"

I was stopped abruptly as he sniffed the air and extended his claws towards me. "You."

"Now, Kittyclaws, is that any way to treat a person? I even made sure your tags were safe, even if I wasn't." Logan had me pinned against the wall in an instant. This is it. The end is near, well, death by impalement by giant metal claws… and I really wanted to see Jean's reaction when she found out Onyx put jello in her underwear drawer. I'm gonna die.

_**Quite possibly.**__ Gee, thanks._

He frowned at me, snarling ferally. "You're that girl from Liberty. You nearly killed Onyx."

"Right now, I am Onyx." He advanced viciously. "What have you done with her?"

"Nothing. I'm right here… and I believe these are yours." She tossed his dog tags at him. He caught them easily and frowned. "I gave these to Onyx."

"Small world, huh?" I didn't understand the reference, but he did apparently. "How did you get them?"

That's it. "Onyx! Get out of my head."

"Can you blame me? I just wanted to say hello."

"I can! Next time you decide to go on some hormonal feral rampage do it in your own body!" Logan was starting to REALLY look confused.

"Logan!" Storm came down the stairs in a hurry. The professor must have mentioned there was an incident going on. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank heavens! Storm could you please tell Onyx to quit trying to jump Logan while she's in my body?"

Storm blinked. "I-"

"I was _not_ going to jump him!"

I snorted. "I can see your thoughts just as easily as you can see mine and I do NOT need those images in my head."

_**Nor do I.**_ I shrieked. "Why is my head suddenly holiday inn?" It took me a moment to shove Onyx back where she belonged. She did so begrudgingly, but I threatened to tell Logan what she really was thinking. I straightened up after regaining control. "My apologies Mr. Logan. I did not mean to cause you any distress. A lot has happened since you left. I've come back from prison and part of Onyx and Magneto's personalities are residing in my head."

He frowned. "You got Onyx in your head?" I nodded. "I feel for ya, kid. Anybody living with that has an excuse to lose their cool." He paused momentarily. "Did you say she wanted to jump me?"

I smirked, before frowning. "Mr. Logan? Onyx has been kidnapped."

"WHAT? By who?" The change was immediate. He went on the offensive again.

Storm frowned. "We don't know. The professor is doing all he can. Jean and I have to go check out a lead tonight. Care to watch the kids?"

"Are you kidding me? Onyx is out there somewhere and you expect me to babysit? No offense, kid."

I shrugged. "None taken." Stupid ferals and their repressed emotion.

_I resent that!_

_How? You basically threw yourself at him and he's practically jumping out of his skin to save you._

I cleared my throat. Logan's eyes shot to me. "You know something kid?"

"Does the name Stryker mean anything to you?" And with that, you could have heard a pin drop.

"I think we need to speak with the professor." I groaned. Just one more voice in my head.

'I heard that, Miss Marie.' Said the professor through my mind.

Well crap.


	5. Family Reunions and Transformations

Chapter 5 Family Reunion and Transformations

Rogue POV

Bobby was seriously getting on my last ever loving nerve. If I hear one more "Are you sure you're ok?" I swear I'll scream. It's bad enough he waited outside the door while I changed at his parent's house…creepy, but now he acts like we're the next celebrity couple.

One good thing about this was Logan. The looks on those guy's faces when he said he was an art teacher…just priceless. Onyx was gonna be in stitches…oh. Bad choice of words.

The plane trip was pretty uneventful so far. Logan apparently hated flying, so that was pretty fun to watch. John just kept flipping his lighter like some nervous tic, but it wasn't as annoyin as Iceface invading my personal space.

_You'd think after talkin with me he'd get the hint. '_Onyx' snickered

_**I do believe the boy is far too obtuse. He cannot understand rejection, obviously.**_

_Obviously. John on the other hand…_

_**Ah, yes. The fire starter. He shows great promise. I would definitely approve of him. **_

_Well, gee thanks, because I don't think I could live without the permission of who I date from the guy who mind raped me._

'Eric' and 'Onyx' were silent. It took me a moment to realize everyone else on the plane was silent too… and staring at me. Oh no.

"Please for the love of everything good and pure that I did _not_ just say that out loud." I winced as Logan smirked at me.

"Sure did kid. Ya havin problems with Onyx again?"

"Among others…"

The new blue mutant looked at me with wide eyes. It was almost humorous, considering I should be wary of him. I nodded to him. "Sorry. Just got a couple of voices in my head. No biggie."

His eyes darted over the other passengers, not looking at my face. "I'm sorry, but vhat?"

John rolled his eyes. "Rogue here can absorb people, and a mutant's powers. But she also keeps like a copy of the part of them she absorbs…like a miniature psyche." He flicked his lighter again.

I blinked. I hadn't realized he'd been paying that much attention. "Uh, yeah. Like that."

"Incredible." Kurt exclaimed.

"I know, pretty awesome, right?" John winked at me and I blushed slightly. Nobody had ever thought my power was anything but dangerous. I turned back to Kurt. "So, what's your story?"

"Vell, I-"

Storm's voice cut off any further introduction. "Missiles at our ten o' clock!"

Why can we never have a nice, leisurely flight on the X-Jet?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X-MEN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rogue POV

After I thanked Kurt for like the billionth time, we settled back into our seats… after picking up a couple of _really _unwelcome passengers, of course. I _really_ didn't like the way Magneto and Mystique kept staring at me.

_**I wouldn't if I were you.**_

I ignored 'Eric' as per usual and asked what the heck they were looking at. "We love what you've done with your hair."

I snarled and with Onyx's reflexes lunged for him. Bobby grabbed me. "It's not worth it, Marie."

"It's _Rogue. _And hands off, Icebreath." He jerked back as if burned. I didn't know he was freaking out over my eyes, which had undoubtedly turned blue on brown, a creepy combination. I straightened myself and turned to Magneto, smiling sweetly.

"Why, thank you. I had it done when I was up visiting New York. The stylist was a real head ache though." John snorted, obviously proud of me. Even Magneto seemed mildly impressed. Mystique, however, was ready to rip my throat out until Magneto laid a hand on her arm in warning.

I turned to go back to my seat, feeling a bit smug.

_I'd like to see her try to touch ya, the blue skinned little-_

_**Mrs. Darkholme always has been a bit protective Onyx. It is in her nature.**_

I spun around. "Darkholme?" Both Mystique and Magneto froze, tensing.

"What," Mystique said, rising slowly. "Did you just say?"

"It can't be." I said, shaking my head furiously. "Not possible."

"What? Tell me before I get bored with you and rip out your-"

"Raven Darkholme?"

In one quick motion she pinned me against the wall, gripping me by the throat. She hissed. "Don't ever say that name. Where did you hear it?"

I blinked up at her, unconcerned. "Hello, Mama."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X-MEN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan paced back and forth. I almost said something about having a heart attack, then realized it didn't really matter. He'd just heal. Still, it couldn't be healthy for that vein to be popping out of his neck like that… He spun towards us. "Let me get this straight. YOU." He pointed at me. "Are Mystique's adopted daughter."

I nodded. "And YOU," He pointed at Kurt. "Are her biological son." He shrugged. "Ja."

"Great. Just great. Next you'll be telling me you had a kid with Creed." Mystique was silent.

I raised an eyebrow. "Go, mom." I mean Creed was one scary SOB but he wasn't a total jerkoff towards me during my experience. In fact, he'd been pretty docile when I didn't steal his nutter butters. That man has serious issues.

Mystique glared at me and I just smirked. Storm raised a hand to her head. No doubt this little X-Jet soap opera was giving her a head ache. "Can we _please_ focus on the task at hand? We still need a plan to get in this place."

As the plan unfolded, it became painfully obvious that the situation was grim. Very grim, indeed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X-MEN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby POV

"Well, well, well…Lookee here. The freakish foursome." I tried to suppress another eye roll as the guard leered over our cage.

"Jack, quit wastin time. Boss said they were up for their final treatment today." Another voice called out. He sighed. "Newbies."

Jack snickered. "Ooh, that'll be fun, won't it, girlie?" He sneered, pulling Jade out of the cage. Big mistake.

"Ey, 'ands off the merchandise, bud. And NOBODY calls ME girlie! Got it?" Jack chuckled darkly as Jade tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I just hurt the freak's feelings?"

A chuckle came from my right. "Remind me to get this bloke a thesaurus for 'is birthday. He needs a synonym for 'freak'."

I sighed. "Not now, Sapphire."

We were roughly shoved from our cell to the 'treatment room'. It was really just this awful, terrible room that housed the gene alternator or the "Mutant Maker" as Sapphire called it. Apparently the blue prints came from a powerful mutant and Stryker had tweaked it a bit. It was very much a success, so far as we could tell. But it was incredibly noisy.

And this thing _hurt. _Like fire being poured over your body while knives sliced you up into tiny pieces. It was not very pleasant. Which leads to the current situation…

"NO! I am not going near that bloody machine again!" Jade struggled uselessly against the guards. She growled, scratched, clawed and gnashed her teeth…no change. It was the same thing as always. Jade's temper did not allow her will to break no matter the odds.

This temper was only made worse by the 'gifts' that Stryker had given her. We of course didn't know the specifics, but each of us were basically being engineered to be mutant hunting machines. Disturbing enough? Add in the fact that we were kidnapped from our homes, cut open regularly, and had a psychopath playing God with our DNA.

"After today, the DNA alteration will be complete." And speak of the devil… Stryker's voice carried over the intercom system into the testing chamber. "Your abilities will not only be stable, but it is my hope that they will become even more powerful."

"An' it's my hope that you get strangled with your own chains!" Jade snarled. Yes, snarled. The intercom clicked as if he was going to speak, but Stryker paused. "Please begin testing immediately."

Amber frowned. "What was that all about?"

Jade tilted her head as if listening to a far off noise. "There's an intruder. I hope he kills the spineless, sniveling-"

Amber's head shot up. "They're mutants!"

"Ow do you know-"

She shook her head. "I don't know how. I just do."

"Whot if they find us?" Sapphire said excitedly.

Jade scowled. "Don't get your 'opes up, love."

The bright lights in the room nearly blinded us as the machine started up. The mechanical whirring was enough to put chills in all of our spines. I pressed my mouth in a firm line. "Well, ladies, let's get this over with."

We only had a few clues to the abilities we had so far. I could sense people's minds, and pick up a few thoughts here and there. I could also project illusions into the brain, but they weren't good for much other than a temporary distraction. Jade was, well, feral. Her senses seemed to be enhanced and she just growled a lot. Sapphire can throw her voice, but she said she could already do that before she was captured. Other than that, she just had two strange looking designs on her back that she claimed itched like the devil. Amber could apparently sense mutants.

We weren't by any means normal, but we were most definitely not mutant killing machines. We didn't even hate mutants. In fact, according to Stryker, we'd been born human.

But what's the difference? If you are a mutant does that automatically make you not-human? I wish I had more time to think about it before the pain ripped through my body. 

A/N: I would just like to mention that writing TWO accents like British and Australian at the same time is extremely annoying. I kept reading Jade and Sapphire's words out loud to make sure I got it right. My cat thinks I'm crazy…the things I do for writing.


	6. Lover's Quarrel

Chapter 6 Lover's Quarrel

**A/N: **By the way, maybe some of y'all are confused with all the voices in Rogue's head. Heaven knows she is.

_Rogue's thoughts._

_Onyx's psyche_

_**Eric's psyche**_

_**John's psyche**_

Anymore and I'm gonna have to get more creative!

Logan POV

I was already itchin to get inside and find Onyx, Yuriko…whatever the heck her name was. I needed to save her. There was just something about Onyx…

I'd cut my trip short to get back to her and tell her how I *shudders* feel. Yeah, not so great with feelings. Then again, neither is she. That's one of the reasons I like her. She's tough, strong, not to mention gorgeous. I couldn't believe I didn't make it back in time. She'd been kidnapped and I wasn't there to protect her.

I felt like a failure. I just hoped she could forgive me. I waited for our cue and blissfully ignored the instructions given to me. They wanted us to stay together, find the professor…blah blah. No offense to the professor, but he just doesn't do it for me. I was going to find Onyx…and then I was going to kill Stryker.

Rogue POV

Logan was not listening. I had a bad feeling that he was gonna do something reckless.

_If he gets himself hurt while trying to find me, I swear I'll kill him._

_**Doesn't that defeat the point?**_

_It'll make me feel better._

_**I don't know what you guys are arguing about, but it's ticking me off.**_

_Now, John. Just because you're out of the loop is no reason to give me a headache._

_**Sorry, beautiful. Just feelin left out is all…hey, what do you say about walkin over there to me…I'm sure we could heat things up.**_

_**That is no way to speak to a lady, young man. **_

Yes, now I had John in my head from absorbing him earlier. And he was a non-stop flirt. I shut them out of my head and paid attention. As they filed out I grabbed Logan's arm. "What kid?"

"Logan, I know you're going to go after Onyx."

"Look kid, I don't need you to tell me-"

I cut him off. "Look, I don't care if you go or not, but just listen. The Onyx in my head is worried about yah. Apparently Stryker has found some way to control the real Onyx. If he can control Onyx, then you just need to watch your back…"

He nodded gruffly. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. I'm supposed to kill yah if you get yourself hurt looking for Onyx. So don't. I really don't like jail."

He chuckled. "Thanks. I'll try my best."

_**Do or do not. There is no try.**_

Who woulda thought Eric was a Star Wars guy? Out of the corner of my eye John stood up and came to where I was standing. "Hey, John. Look, I just wanted to say sorry for earlier. About absorbin ya and all."

_**You can touch me anytime you want.**_

"You can touch me anytime you want, sweetness." John and 'John' said at the same time…creepy.

I smirked. "Ya know… the you in my head is pretty much a pathological flirt."

He smiled at me. "So's the original. So…" he glanced at Bobby. "What do you say we blow this popsicle stand and go where the fire is."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "I'd say you got yourself a date."

"A deadly, dangerous, delightful date." He smirked. I blushed slightly.

"Watch it, Casanova. We got a mission to do." Bobby frowned. "You guys can't leave. They said to stay here!"

John rolled his eyes. "If you want to stay at the kiddie table, go ahead. I'm going."

Bobby looked at me. "Marie, you aren't going, are you?"

"Sorry. I got a hot date." I glanced at John, smirking. "You can stay if you want."Me and John left before Bobby could utter another word.

Onyx POV

No, it couldn't be. Anyone but…

"Logan. What a pleasant surprise." Stryker grinned stupidly as Logan looked at me. Stryker continued his rant, but I was struggling inside. I had to fight the serum. I couldn't do what I knew he was planning.

"I don't believe you've had the…pleasure of meeting my associate, Miss Yuriko." His hand slid down my arm. I growled viciously on the inside and Logan tensed, growling a bit. If I was still in charge of my own body…yum.

Focus Onyx. "Oh, so you two _have _met. Interesting…Well, I will leave you in her very capable hands." The innuendo was not lost on either of us and I wanted to rip his throat out there.

As Stryker left, he whispered in my ear. "Kill him."

No, no, no! I was not going to do kill Logan! I just had to fight the serum long enough… But my body would not obey my mind. I was already lunging. Logan easily dodged my attacks, although I did get some good ones in. After all, I'd been training for the past year while he'd been driving around in Canada.

He grunted as my foot made contact with his stomach. He grabbed my leg and swung me into the wall. "You've been practicing."

I felt my eyes flash silver and a smile played at my lips. Yes! The serum was losing power. The fight went on for some time before I had him pinned against the wall, my nails at his throat. He frowned. "I'm sorry Onyx."

Blinding pain in my stomach made me stumble back as Logan impaled me with his claws. I shook my head, trying to clear my vision, but the world was swimming. Logan rushed to my side. No…stay away. I reached out a hand towards his face. So close… in one last serum controlled action I stabbed him with all my claws while scratching him across the face. In doing so I ripped the raw flesh of my stomach, creating even bigger wounds.

Then I blacked out.

Rogue POV

As we stepped into the complex I immediately got a creepy feeling. I shivered slightly. "This is like out of a horror movie."

John nodded. "You can say that again." We made it a short ways down the hall before I froze. "John, there is somebody in my head."

"When isn't there?"

"I'm serious. Somebody is trying to send out a distress signal."

He paused. "I hear it too. Weird, since none of the kids at the institute are psychic…"

The hairs on my neck stood up. "We have to save them. This way."

"Rogue, wait!" I ignored him, forcing him to follow me throughout the maze of metal hallways. Finally I stopped at a door. "It's behind here, but I can't think of a way to…"

"Step back." Cyclop's voice made me turn. We did as he bid and he made quick work of the door. I rushed inside, ignoring the calls of warning from our "leaders". I nearly shrieked when I saw that terrible machine that looked so much like the one from Liberty Island.

I looked around and saw four figures slumped into the ground. Cautiously, I stepped over the rubble and gasped when three of them fizzled out of existence. The third, a blonde looking girl gasped. Before I could avoid it, she lurched up and grabbed my bare arm with her hand. I winced, waiting for her pain to begin…but nothing happened.

She looked at me with amber eyes that pierced my soul. I stared back in confusion. "How…"

"You needed this. Be careful young one, and thank you for answering our call." With that, she too disappeared.

I stared in shock at the skin that she'd touched. She touched my skin. With her skin. "Rogue! What happened!"

John dropped beside me. I was still staring at my arm. "She _touched_ me."

His eyebrows knit in confusion. "Rogue, we gotta get out of here. They said the dam is collapsing."

Wordlessly I nodded, following them back to the X-Jet. The other students were already there. "Wait! Where's Onyx? And Logan?"

Nobody looked at me. I slumped in my seat. This couldn't be happening. "Hey, why the long face, Sasquatch?"

My eyes flew up to see Logan carrying a hurt Onyx. "Onyx!"

"The one and only."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Thank goodness."

"Admit it. You love me."

"Well, if you insist…" Everyone but me, and Logan were surprised when Logan grabbed Onyx for a kiss. I chuckled. "Watch the PDA. There are little kids around."

"Are you talking about yourself or…"

"Shut it, Onyx."

The take off was tricky at best. Scott was terribly depressed since Jean sacrificed herself for us. Everyone picked up on the solemn mood. John walked me to the kitchen to grab a bite. Since the adrenalin wore off, we had found we were starving.

"Rogue, do you trust me?"

I looked at John over my sandwich. "If I say yes do I get a prize?"

"Only the best." I nervously nodded as he leaned forward slightly. I leaned forward and jumped slightly as his lips met mine. They were hot…literally.

I pulled back. "Woah." I blinked as the candle flame on the table grew twice in size. I blushed before turning back to John. It was a fluke. It had to be…John leaned forward again for a deeper kiss. I held back, expecting my powers to ruin the moment like always.

But he didn't pass out, or crumple to the floor. I still felt the pull, but it was smaller, more manageable. I gasped when I leaned back. The girl with the Amber eyes. She had fixed me.


	7. New Begginings

Chapter 7 New Beggining

Onyx POV

I smiled at Logan, blissfully ignoring the rest of the group until a certain file came up. "GEM."

I bolted upright. "Genetically Engineered Mutations. Designed to infuse humans with mutations."

Professor raised an eyebrow. "I take it you know something about this project?"

I nodded. "My friends were its victims. I met them when I was first captured by Stryker."

"Rogue tells me they escaped. Do you have any idea where they might be?"

I shook my head sadly. "Wherever they are, they'll be together. Ruby will make sure at that."

"Ruby?"

"She is the leader of the four. Jade is the brawn. Amber is the heart. Sapphire is the energy."

"Ruby, Sapphire, Amber and Jade?"

"They're GEMs." I smiled a bit.

The professor steepled his fingers. "I believe we need to keep a vigilant eye. Stryker may be dead, but we must not take any chances. In order to ensure their safely, we need to find them."

I nodded. "Of course. I'll get my contacts on it."

He looked amused. "I could just use Cerebro."

"Trust me, with Stryker's handiwork, nothing is easy. I'll go ahead and begin the search. You begin yours. It'll go faster that way."

The professor nodded his head slowly. "Very well. Proceed."

I had some calls to make. Logan wasn't going to like this.

Amber POV

I quickly caught up with the three who had became my friends since our entrapment in Stryker's lab. "Ey, Amber. Whot took you so long? I 'aven't 'ad a good meal in forever. Let's get a move on!"

I smiled at Jade's ability to act like we hadn't been trapped in a prison for the past however many years. How long _had_ we been in that terrible place? Sapphire giggled, her dirty red hair flying as she spun. "We're free gals! Oy! It feels fantastic!"

She perked up and suddenly threw a snowball at an unsuspecting Jade. "Ey! Watch it pipsqueak."

Ruby smiled at their antics before turning to me. "Did it work?"

I nodded. "I think so. Thanks for the diversion."

"No problem." She nodded. "Now, onto more important things. I think we need to get clean and find food."

Sapphire nodded. "I second that motion. Prison food for the genetic experiments is absolutely awful."

Jade smirked. "Not to mention we look and smell like shite."

Ruby grimaced. "Yes… afterwards we'll need a place to stay, even if temporarily."

Sapphire's grin dropped. "Are we…separating?"

Silence came over us. We hadn't been apart in years. We didn't even have any idea what had gone on in the world. Nervously, I spoke up. "What chance do we have separated? I have nowhere. I didn't have any family before I was kidnapped. My job was crap and my friends are you guys."

Sapphire nodded. "Same here. I was on my own for years before Stryker kidnapped me. I came to the states for holiday but nobody is there to look for me."

Jade frowned. "I didn't like people. Still don't. You three are a rare exception. Consider yourselves lucky."

Sapphire nodded solemnly. "Oh, we do. How would I live without your approval?"

I cut her off. "Ruby? What are we going to do?"

She sighed. " I have a house in New Orleans. It should still be there. If it is, then we can stay there."

Sapphire grinned. "Yes! I've always wanted to go there…" I nodded my agreement.

"What about you, Jade? Are you up for a road trip?"

"Eh, why not. Not like I had a hot date planned or nothing." I laughed. And why not? We were together and free. Why shouldn't we laugh?

So we began our trek with a relatively joyful attitude. But it wasn't to last. The mood quickly changed when Amber slipped on the cliff edge and fell, a helpless shriek echoing throughout the landscape.

Sapphire POV

Well, wasn't this an interesting turn of events.

I looked down at my friend's astonished faces as I flew above their heads. Why? Cause somehow I'd become three inches tall. Oh, and those itchy designs on my back? Turns out they become wings.

"Amber, get down from there!"

I giggled as I fluttered around my friend's heads. "BUZZZZZZ!"

Jade swatted me viciously and I stuck my tongue out at her, not that she could see it. I'd been growing concerned when my friends received their super advanced cool powers. Then that concern kinda flew (heehee. Flew, get it?) out the window when I fell off that cliff. Snow was slippery!

Anyway, I was expecting to plummet to my death when I found out I had these super cool fairy powers…Actually, when you say it like that, it's nowhere near as cool. As I landed on the ground next to Amber, I returned to my original height, which wasn't much to begin with. I felt my wings grow smaller, but they were still there.

I did a little happy dance. "This is sooo cool!"

Ruby tried to hide her smile. "Congratulations?"

"Please my powers are by far the most amazing, and you know it. You read minds. Yah, alright that's cool. But I can _fly_." Hey, if I was gonna get kidnapped by a creeper and then get tested on, I might as well enjoy what I get out of it. Jade rolled her eyes.

So far during our trek we'd each discovered what Stryker meant by advanced powers. Amber could now teleport short distances, sense mutants and even mellow out their powers. She said it hurt a lot when she touched them to mellow them out, and she didn't do it often. Ruby was like a jedi almost. She could clear peoples minds, read some thoughts, and project images. The images were a lot better than the ones from before. Think high school A.V. club versus billion dollar special effects.

Jade was more… animally? Is that a word? Oh, feral, I guess. She's really good at blending in and her senses are even more advanced. And another thing that's nifty is she heals. Not super fast, but faster than normal. She also says that pain is less, well, painful. And of course I'm a fairy…ok. I really need to come up with a cooler title. But I guess that's the best description. Oh! And I'm like Dr. Doolittle. Well, sorta. I can communicate with animals, but not talk to them. Words don't work with animals, but I can interpret their sounds, body language, ect and vice versa.

We made it through the Candadian border, thanks to a combination of Amber teleportation, my flying, Jade's stealth and the Jedi skills of Ruby.

Man, now Jedi skills sounds sooo much better than fairy powers…darn.

Anyways, Ruby convinced a very nice bus driver that we didn't need money to get to New Orleans. (Yeah, now I'm totally jealous of her Jedi powers… I guess she's not totally a Jedi since she can't move things with the Force,so…)

As we approached Ruby's house Amber frowned slightly. "There is a mutant inside."

"What?" Ruby frowned. "Everyone watch their back. If Stryker sent one of his goons ahead of us we need to be on our guard."

Jade sneered. "I'd like to see them try to take us again."

Amber frowned. "Be wary of what you wish for, Jade…I can't seem to understand this one's powers."

We stepped inside warily. I shrunk down and flew ahead of the rest. "All clear." I threw my voice towards them. I'd always loved ventriloquism. Jade jumped slightly but recovered and followed directly behind me. A shadow moved to my right and I yelled for the others.

The shadowy figure turned to run. Amber shouted "Stop!" As if that would do any good. Imagine my surprise when the figure did stop.

"Now turn around and stand still." The figure, who on closer inspection was a girl about our age, did just that. Her scared eyes looked nervously between us.

Jade frowned, obviously upset about not getting a fight. "What the 'eck is goin on?"

Amber frowned. "Tell us why you are here."

The girl pursed her lips. "I have nowhere else. My curse makes living amongst others extremely dangerous for me and them."

Ruby cocked her head. "What are your powers, child?"

The girl hung her head in shame. "It is not a power. It is a curse."

"Please."

She sighed heavily. "I have no choice but to do as others want. Whether a spoken or unspoken command, I know what they truly want and I have to do it. If it is beyond my ability to do so, or I try not to, unspeakable pain flows through my very being."

I gasped. "You poor girl! "

I rushed to hug the girl, growing my proper size. She stiffened before relaxing slightly. When I pulled back, I noticed Amber looked thoughtful. "If regulated, this could indeed be a power. You said you would know what they wanted even if it was an unspoken request?"

She nodded. Amber continued. "Well, you would be a great hotel manager or restaurant hostess if you could know what the customer wanted before hand. Would you like be helped?"

The girl nodded hesitantly. Amber sighed. "I think I can do it."

I gasped. "But Amber! You'll get hurt! Remember whot 'appened last time?"

She shook her head. "It will be worth it, and it is only until she gets control of her powers on her own."

I looked at Ruby who was nodding slightly. "If Amber is willing to risk it, we should let her. But if a single thing goes wrong…"

The girl nodded, with tears of gratefulness in her eyes. "I will never be able to repay you."

Amber smiled sadly. "Don't thank me yet. Now, this will hurt me a lot more than it will hurt you..." She winced. "…literally."

She placed her hands on the girl's skin and suddenly the girl became ten times more relaxed. Her eyes darted between us. "Quick! Tell me to do something."

Jade thought for a moment. "Go stand on your 'ead an' count to fifty."

The girl beamed, blatantly refusing the request. "It worked!" She hugged Amber who was swaying slightly. Amber patted her head.. "What is your name?"

"Ella."

Ruby nodded. "Well, welcome to the family, Ella."

Life was about to get interesting. (well, more interesting than it already was for 4 genetically engineered science projects)

Onyx POV

My phone rang and I stepped aside to receive the call. Only two people knew this number. "Hello?"

A gruff voice at the other end chuckled. "How's the runt treatin ya, Onyx?"

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up. Do you have the information or not?"

"Who are you talking to? Of course I do. How are you holding up after Liberty Island?"

I rubbed my arms. "Fine. I'm still ticked about that, by the way."

"I'm nearly insulted you didn't recognize me."

"You had cave man eyebrows and hair down to your butt. Somewhat different than your buzz cut and leather duster. Not to mention you smelled like a 3 week old carcass."

"How you flatter."

"Whatever, just send me the location."  
"Heck no. You've got me curious. Me and the frog want to tag along."

"No! Are you crazy? Logan will kill you!"

"He can try." I growled softly into the phone.

"Ugh. Fine. Whatever. Pick a meeting point and be on your best behavior."

"Always am."

I groaned as he hung up. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Footsteps approached and I felt familiar arms circle my waist. "You okay darlin?"

I nodded, grimacing. "I got the location. I should probably tell the professor."

"Hmm… don't stress. It's just a regular check up job. It'll be a piece of cake. No complications."

Man, he was really good at making me feel guilty when he wasn't even trying.


End file.
